SAM

Scene #2

"Sooo, what poem have you got here?" Alex stretched out the words in a melody, trying to fake an excitement since he was feeling a little anxious.

"Poem? I've got loads of them, not only one." Sam said, fumbling with the notebook she held in her hands. "But, I can start with The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost."

"Why that one especially?" He asked her as he watched her fingers slowly flip through the pages.

"Because it's my favourite; it plays on irony."

He hums in acknowledgement, gesturing her to continue. "Tell me more,"

"Well, it's about this man who imagined himself standing between two paths and he makes it out to be this huge decision that he's going to tell his grandchildren about and how its life altering and stuff," She explained as her vision switches between my eyes and the various shades of green in the leaves of the surrounding trees.

"Where's the irony then?"

"The irony lies in the fact that he's just a phony who's lying to himself because it doesn't make any difference since both paths lead to the same thing." She ended her speech with a smile, tearing a paper from the notebook and handing it to him.

Her actions had him puzzled, he didn't know that well yet and he was surprised by how friendly she is. It was hard dealing with new people when he always had to drag his anxiety around; it's like it was tied around his feet. Letting go of it seemed inevitable, but nothing stays the same.

"You have to read it, it's too beautiful to remain unknown. I've also highlighted my favourite lines," She decrease the distance between them, standing on her toes to reach his vision level. She pointed with her long sculptured fingers at the bright yellow lines, her nails looked the most beautiful. "One that says: and I-I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference. The other one-right here-says: two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry I could not travel both."

Her handwriting was lovely, he noticed how neat it was. The letters looked identical every time she wrote them, it made him wonder whether it was a typewriter or her actual handwriting.

"Why are they your favourite?"

"Well, we'll discuss that tomorrow after you read it and pick your favourite lines too so it's not a one-sided discussion. You didn't tell me the rest of the poet's story though," She reminded him, forgetting about the fact that Alex was supposes to show her his favourite poem as well. Though, Alex didn't mind. He was scared the poem he liked wouldn't appeal to Sam, or would make her judge him in someway.

He was grateful she forgot about it. Hiding his book behind his back, he replied. "Well, everyone just thought the poet was insane, he wrote harsh words all over the walls of-"

"You said that yesterday, we stopped when he stood in the road and wanted to say a speech,"

"Oh, right. Everyone was afraid of him and his followers, so they actually stood to listen. He said he'd steal all the folders and become the master of the town, claiming that he'd be the one to retrieve people's freedom from these 'slaving' factories. He didn't realise that people did it with their own will, but since some people had the same belief as the poet and his followers, they supported him. Two days later, the poet mysteriously disappeared, but his handwriting continued to cover the walls of the buildings, which filled the whole town with fear. After a week, when the words stopped appearing, we heard that his folder was gone and that encouraged people to exile them and banish them from the South. As a result of their frustration, they decided to follow their master. And they were the first people ever to take their folders and go to Downhill before they were given the order."

"Oh my God, no wonder why the girls aren't talking to me as usual now," She murmured, her eyes were wide open, looking at him with shock.

"Yeah, that's why people are scared of poets. I heard the East is much brighter, isn't it?" He asked her, only to receive a nostalgic weak smile and a sigh.

She hummed, eyes scanning the ground, probably to prevent looking into Alex's eyes like he'd always do. "The East, I miss being there."